Nervous about overseas travel for work - Anyone with experience?

After having to give up my job when my maternity leave finished, I have struggled to find a new one. I was actually offered a full-time role last year, but didn't take it as it involved alot of overseas travel and my DD was not even 1 year old. Luckily we have savings which have kept us going but now I really need to be earning again.

I have now accepted a 3 month consultancy - a role which i am genuinely excited about. However, it includes a 2-week trip overseas. I am dreading leaving DD who will be 20 months old. I know she will be OK with her Dad and childminder, but it still makes me feel really sad and upset to think about it.

Anyone else who has travelled for long work trips with young kids? Tell me how you managed....

I travel a lot for work, and have done since ds was 6 months old (is 6.5 yrs old now). I have total confidence in DHs ability to cope when I'm not around, and he takes a firm view that he doesn't tell me anything that will worry/distress me when I'm away and can't do anything about it.

Go, enjoy going to bed and knowing only the alarm will wake you, long baths, etc. Don't make a fuss about going away, and speaking to her on the phone is prob going to just confuse her.

Iceberg - I fed ds till he was 23 months, so travel doesn't have to stop it

I'm watching with interest. I've been back at work a year and have done about 6 trips of 2 or 3 nights, but all within the UK (and one Europe). My role has now been made global (which is a fantastic opportunity) but means I'll be making longer trips, and they'll be further away.

I'm totally happy leaving DD with DP (and first left her for 3 nights at 11 weeks) but she's almost 2 now and much more aware of everything and I worry she'll start to miss me. We've coped by using FaceTime which she loves so that's my only tip.

My trips vary between long days (out 4.30, back 10pm, few a month) to 10 days (couple a year). I've never liked trips over 2 weeks, and my max pre ds was 3, but it would depend on what the context was - in one place with a room in an extended stay hotel, and a car, would be OK, but thats not my trips. And pre ds I travelled A Lot - 250 nights one memorable year, so it wasn't one off things.

I have to say that provided it is not too long, tiring or frequent, I look forward to overseas trips to chill out, but my dcs are older (9 and 6). I generally only do scheduled travel for training or offsites but will be doing more overseas office outreach in due course. I have a live-in aupair who is totally on top of the children's school schedules - more so than me, I dare say - and of course, there is dh.

Thanks all. DP travels quite a bit too, so she is used to him being away but I have only left her for a couple of nights before. I think we are going to ask her grandparents to look after her for a week. Hopefully she will be distracted and have lots of fun there and not feel that I have abandoned her. Feeling so guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.

Yes Iceberg, me too. Leaving DD will be really hard. I have left her for two nights before and she was really fine. In fact she wasn't even that bothered to see me when I came back because she was having such a great time! I had to chase her for a kiss and cuddle!

But a week/2 weeks is much longer..... I will be doing the skype thing as much as possible.